Trouble On Double Time
by BlueserDragon
Summary: Sequel to "Marked for Greatness". Rose tries to adjust to her new life while Jake has to deal with the fact that he isn't the only American Dragon anymore. Will he learn how to share the spotlight with someone else or will things get nasty?
1. The Miller Twins

**Hello everyone! I'm back! :D  
><strong>

**No... I'm not dead. Just had to spend some time away due to school, a new job and etc...  
>So, sorry to disappoint you, but you will have to endure my deviations and crazy ideas once again. :P<br>**

**Don't expect much. This is just a little thing I wrote during the weekend **to get my ideas rolling again **(pretty much a random comedy thing - it takes place a day after the Epilogue from my first story)**.**. Anyway, hope you like it! :P**

**Note:**_ Again, sentences in italic (like this) are thoughts, memories or dreams_

**Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Miller Twins<br>**

_"I don't want you to disappoint me once again, am I being clear?" The Huntsman remarked dryly._

_"Yes Master" Rose reluctantly told him._

_"I'll be watching you from here. Now, go!"_

_They were at the Central Park, hiding behind some bushes. It was dark and eerie. A few unicorns could be seen feeding themselves with the grass, not even suspecting of the danger that lurked around them._

_Huntsgirl sighed while sneaking through the darkness. "Where are you Jake? C'mon! I need you here now!" She was getting closer and closer…_

_Rose hid behind a tree and aimed her Huntstaff at one of the creatures. She hesitated and looked back at the Huntsman. He shot a "What are you waiting for?" look at her._

_She didn't have the courage to shoot (At least not anymore). But she knew the Huntsman was watching and there was nothing else she could do. Rose quickly looked around, hoping to see Jake flying into her direction, but he was nowhere to be seen._

_Huntsgirl gulped and charged the staff. Her heart started to race. She couldn't do that. She just couldn't. Her finger was sliding through the trigger, but not pressing it at all. Or so she thought…_

Rose woke up with a start as the shriek of the unicorn echoed inside her mind. She confusedly looked around trying to understand what had just happened.

"Rose? Are you okay?" Luna, her twin sister, asked with concern.

"Uhhh… It was just a bad dream. Don't worry" She answered.

"Are you sure?" She asked again.

"Yeah. I'm fine" She added with a smile. "What time is it?"

As if on cue, they heard knocks on the door. "Time to wake up! Breakfast is ready!"

"Coming dad!" The sisters said in unison.

Ten minutes later they were going downstairs, fully dressed and prepared for school.

"Good morning!" Their mother cheerfully greeted them.

"Morning mom" Rose replied with a big smile and hugged her.

"Did you sleep well?" Their father asked while taking a sip of coffee.

They nodded vigorously in response. James couldn't help but chuckle. He was delighted to see both his daughters sitting in front of him and unintentionally mirroring each other. It was definitely a funny sight.

"I made pancakes today" Violet said as placed the plates on the table. "Eat as much as you want. There are plenty of them"

"Yummy!" Luna said while putting the maple syrup on the pancakes. "I luf your fancakes mum"

"Luna! Don't speak with your mouth full" James scolded her.

"Sorry…" She answered sheepishly.

Rose quietly laughed at the scene. She also started to put the maple syrup on her pancakes and then picked up the jar with the orange juice. "So… When are we going to move to the new house?" She asked.

"Hopefully, tomorrow" Violet said. "Not that this temporary shelter is bad, but I prefer to live in my own house. Although I must admit this is really authentic"

"Yeah. It's just like our old house!" Luna commented.

"Magic can do a lot of things" Rose explained with a chuckle.

"It sure does" James said.

Rose ate the first slice of the pancakes but then just stared at them for a while.

"Is there anything wrong, sweetie? Do they taste weird?" Her mother asked.

Looking up, Rose noticed that everyone was looking at her with the same worried expression. She shyly smiled and answered. "No. They are delicious… It's just that… I still need to get used to all of this… I mean… Everything feels like a dream… I don't want to wake up and find out that my life is still like it was before…"

James got up and put an arm around Rose. In response, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Sweetheart… This is real. You are really here, with us. You don't need to worry about that"

"Just don't think about it, okay?" Violet said and caressed her daughter's hair. "I promise it's not going to happen"

"I hope so" Rose spoke softly. "Thank you"

"Now, eat your breakfast. You don't want to be late for school, do you?" Her father gave her a warm smile.

She did the same and they continued to eat. The meal went on normally, with the family now talking about more cheerful subjects.

"C'mon girls! Time to go! I'll take you by car or else you won't make it on time" James said when everybody finished.

Then, Rose remembered something. "Ah. By the way, today I'll have to spend the afternoon at Lao Shi's shop. But I promise I'll be back for dinner"

"Alright sweetie. Behave well. And I want you to tell me everything when you get back, ok?" Violet told Rose while kissing her forehead. "See you later"

"Bye mom!" Luna hugged her mother and also received a goodbye kiss.

Violet couldn't be happier. This is how it always should have been. And it finally was, after fourteen years. When she saw they were gone, she let some tears of happiness escape.

At Millard Fillmore Middle School…

"Alright. Here we are" James said while parking the car in front of the school.

"Thanks dad. Bye!" Luna spoke while getting out.

"See you" Rose waved goodbye to her father.

"Good luck!" James said before driving off.

"Well… Here we go…" Rose spoke after a deep breath.

"Are you nervous?" Luna asked her sister.

"A little… And you?" was the answer.

"To be honest… Yeah. It's my first day here…" She admitted sheepishly.

"Don't worry. People here are quite nice. You'll see. C'mon!" Rose grinned and dragged her twin sister into the school.

Everybody stared at the twins. It wasn't something that you would see everyday.

"Who are they? I've never seen them before" Someone commented.

"They must be new here… Well… We will know soon enough" The other person answered, a little indifferent. Then, they continued to talk about random subjects.

"Uh… Rose? Where are you dragging me to?" Luna asked worriedly.

"I need to talk to Jake" Rose said.

"Oh… I see" Luna commented with a smirk. But Rose seemed to ignore it.

She finally found him by his locker, talking to Trixie and Spud. Jake saw them and waved.

"Hey!" He called out with a smile.

"Hey yourself" Rose answered in a sing-song manner.

"Hey Rosie! How are you, homegirl?" Trixie cheerfully greeted her.

"Oh… I think I'm gonna pass out… I'm seeing double…" Spud said putting a hand on his forehead.

"Uh… Spud? Did you forget that we are twins?" Rose said with a raised eyebrow.

"What? Oh… Yeah… That's right! Still… It's kinda freaky" He answered.

Everybody just looked at each other and shrugged.

"It's Luna, right?" Jake asked.

She nodded in response. "My friends call me Moony though" Luna said with a chuckle.

"So… How should we call you then?" Trixie asked.

"Both ways are fine. I don't mind that nickname at all" She answered.

"Alright girls! Mac Daddy Jake here will give you a tour around the school"

"Jake? Did you forget that I know this place as the palm of my hand?"

Jake then grabbed Rose's arm and whispered into her ear "Shhh! Gramps erased everybody's memories of you! To everyone else, you two are the new girls. So, we have to make it look like so"

"Oh! Then, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jake Long" She playfully said extending her arm.

"Very funny" He commented and shook her hand with a chuckle. "Now, let's go!"

Some time later…

"And this… Is Principal Rotwood's office" Jake said when they approached the said door. "I guess this is the first room you will have to enter today. Be careful, this guy is… uhh… How could I put it?"

"Let's just say his head isn't screwed in the right place" Rose said.

"What do you mean?" Luna confusedly asked.

"You will see…" Jake answered. "Just be careful. He knows about the magical world, but he wants to expose it and get all the fame. Make sure you don't say anything that might make him suspicious of you, ok?"

"I got it, don't worry" Luna spoke.

"Well… See you girls around. Bye!" Jake said after giving Rose a quick kiss on the cheek.

Trixie and Spud also gave their goodbyes and headed to their respective classrooms.

"Are you ready?" Rose asked Luna.

"I guess…" She answered under her breath.

Rose put a comforting hand on her shoulder and then knocked the door. There was a yelp followed by some crashes and the sound of papers flying everywhere. Both sisters looked at each other with confusion while more noises could be heard.

"Come in" Rotwood finally said with a rather uneasy tone.

"I think now I know what you meant" Luna whispered into Rose's ear.

Rose opened the door and they were greeted by the German man.

"Ah. You must be the Miller twins. I'm Principal Hans Rotwood. Sit down. I'll get your papers" He spoke with a heavy accent.

"Thanks principal" Rose said calmly.

"Very well… Ah. Here they are" He finally spoke and sat down at his chair. "Rose Ann Miller and… Luna Elizabeth Miller"

They nodded in response.

"Hmm… So, who is who then?" Rotwood said while looking back and forth between the two. They were really hard to tell apart.

"I'm Luna" She said, raising her hand.

"Then, you are Rose" He said, turning his attention to her.

"Yes" Rose answered.

"Good. Here are your schedules. Welcome to Millard Fillmore" He said, handing them the said papers and giving a friendly smile.

"Thank you" the sisters said in unison.

"Now, hurry or you will be late for the first period" Rotwood remembered them.

They nodded and left.

Rotwood put a hand under his chin and then grabbed his pocket recorder.

"Interesting… Rose Ann Miller seems to have the mark of the Huntsclan on her right wrist. Note to myself: Keep a close eye on her" He spoke with a (kind of) sinister smirk….

Meanwhile…

"He seems to be a nice guy…" Luna spoke.

"Oh… Trust me. He isn't" Rose answered.

"If you say so…" Luna said while looking at her schedule. "What's your first class?"

"History. And yours?"

"Math…" Luna spoke with disgust. "What a way to start my first day!"

"Same as Jake…" She sighed. "What's your second class?"

"English" She answered.

"Grrrr… You have the same class as Jake again! I have Biology! It looks like I'll only see him during the third period!"

Luna thought for a few seconds and came up with a plan. "What if we switch?"

"Huh?" Rose asked, puzzled.

"We are identical. You can go as me and I can go as you and nobody will notice it! I escape from Math and English… You will have classes with Jake… It's good for both of us!"

"I don't like that idea… What if we get caught?"

"Oh Rose! Don't be like that! After the second period, we switch back!"

"Well… I…" She wasn't sure about it.

"C'mon Rose! Please! Please! Only this time!" She begged with the classic puppy dog pout.

Rose sighed. "Fine. But if anything goes wrong, it will be your fault"

"Whatever!" Luna cheerfully said. "And, by the way, it will be _your_ fault, _Luna_"

_"She is still going to put me into serious trouble someday…"_ Rose thought while rolling her eyes.

Math class, a few minutes later…

"Open your books on page 107 and…" The teacher started, but was interrupted by knocks on the door.

She sighed and opened it to see a blonde girl looking sheepishly back at her. "Uh… Hi there"

"You are late…" She said coldly.

"Sorry… I'm new here and I got lost…" Rose answered and handed her a note.

"Oh. It's okay then. Come in, Ms. Miller" The teacher gave her a warm smile "I'm Mrs. Westwood. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Rose got in and scanned the classroom, trying to find Jake. She saw him by the corner, his head resting on the desk. He seemed really bored.

Jake brightened up and lifted his head as soon as he saw her. He waved and a goofy smile was written all across his face.

"Attention everyone! We have a new student. I want you all to welcome Luna Miller" The teacher announced, making Jake cringe and quickly lie down his head again.

"Sit next to Mr. Long over there. I see you two already know each other" Mrs. Westwood said.

_"Way to go Jake! Stupid! Stupid!" _He cried mentally.

"What's wrong Jake?" He heard "Luna" whispering to him.

"Sorry… I thought you were… Rose?" He started, but soon realized it was indeed his girlfriend. "But…"

_"Shh! If you say anything you're a dead dragon! It was Luna's idea!"_

Jake smirked_. "My lips are sealed"_

Rose smirked back. "_Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all…" _She thought.

_"It sure wasn't" _He winked.

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><p><strong>Well... That was it for now.<strong>

**If you are disappointed... I'm sorry... But I told you it wasn't such a big deal.  
>I'll try to update this one as soon as I can. Not sure where it's going to head to, though.<strong>

**And, if you are curious, I'll give you a hint: Jake is going to have some real headaches because of Rose's... uh... "new position". :P  
>Just wait and you will see... <strong>

**Cheers!**

**~BlueserDragon  
><strong>


	2. Rotwood Strikes Again

**Hey guys :)**

**Sorry about the delay, but I had some troubles and I couldn't find time to finish it.  
>Here it is, at last.<strong>

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**I hope you like it! :D  
><strong>

****Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney.****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 2: <strong>**Rotwood Strikes Again**

"_Rose, what's wrong?"_

She turned around to face Jake. _"Uh? Nothing. How come?"_

He frowned in response. _"Don't lie to me. You know it doesn't work. I can feel that you are worried about something"_

Rose sighed. _"It's nothing important, really. I'm just having a bad feeling about this switch we made. I'm starting to think it wasn't a good idea" _Although she had to admit that the classes with Jake had been quite enjoyable.

"_So it's just that?__" _Jake smiled._ "C'mon Rose! The English class is almost over and you'll switch back soon. What could possibly go wrong?"_

"_I guess you are right__…"_

They turned their attention back to the teacher (or in Jake's case, he was pretending to do so) and waited until the class was over.

A few minutes later, there were some knocks on the door. Rose widened her eyes at the sight: there stood none other than principal Rotwood grinning mischievously.

"Excuse me" He said to the teacher. "Ms. Miller? Can you please come to my office?"

She looked at Jake. They were speechless.

"Ms. Miller?" Rotwood repeated.

Rose gulped and got up.

"Awww man!" Jake cried.

At Rotwood's office…

Luna was scared. It was her first day and she already managed to get herself into trouble. Not only that, but she dragged Rose into the mess as well. _"Dad is going to kill me"_

She heard footsteps and looked back to see Rotwood getting in with Rose following close behind.

Rose questioningly stared at her sister, but she just looked down in response.

"Very well" Rotwood started while sitting down. "I must say that I'm really surprised. You two barely entered this school and already started to break the rules. What should I expect from you after this?"

There was no answer. "So?" Rose and Luna heard him question them again.

Finally, Rotwood lost his patience. "Now, listen here you two hoodlums. If you think you can come to this school and do whatever you want, I have bad news: it doesn't work like that here. We have rules, and if you don't follow them, I can turn your life into a hell if I want to!"

"B… But… It wasn't even such a big deal. It was just an innocent switch… We didn't…" Luna tried to say, but was cut off by an angry Rotwood.

He slammed his ruler onto the table and started to yell, making the girls cringe. "Quiet! I didn't finish yet! You two won't make a fool of me! I know every inch of this school and I know everything that happens in here. There's no 'big deal' or 'small deal', as you kids like to put it. Wrong is wrong and I can't tolerate this kind of behavior…"

Rotwood was interrupted by a phone call. He groaned and picked it up. "What do you want? What? You caught Johnny Winters spray-painting the school walls again? You want to send him here? No. I'm busy right now. Deal with him yourself. How? Just give him a warning or something like that! What? It's an order, not a request! I don't care! That's not my problem!" He yelled into the phone and hung up.

Rotwood turned his attention back to the twins. "Well. As I was saying, whenever anyone breaks a rule, I have to make sure this person receives a fair punishment. And that's what I'm going to do with you two"

Rose and Luna were outraged, but there was really nothing they could do.

Luna sighed. "So… What is it going to be? Detention, demerits or what?"

"Detention. And I'm also going to call your parents. I think I need to have a serious conversation with them"

"WHAT?" the twins gasped in shock.

"Principal? Don't you think you are overreacting a little?" Rose asked.

Rotwood ignored them and started to dial the number on the phone. He grinned. That really wasn't necessary, but it was a great opportunity to investigate the Miller family. Perhaps he could confirm its connection with the Huntsclan.

Later…

Rose sighed while staring at nothing. This was not exactly how she expected the day to be. She and Luna were waiting outside Rotwood's office.

"You hate me, don't you?" She heard Luna finally say. Rose turned her attention to her sister and realized she had some tears escaping her eyes. "It's all my fault. I'm so sorry…"

"No. It's okay, don't worry" Rose tried to calm her down. "This is nothing"

"Aren't you mad?" Luna asked while looking into Rose's eyes.

Rose bit her lower lip. "Well… Maybe just a little…" This made Luna drop her head again. "But it doesn't matter"

"Yes, it does. I pulled you into this mess…" Luna cried.

"Don't be like that sis… We are going to be fine. It was not your fault. Rotwood is the one who made a storm in a teacup" Rose said trying to give her sister a comforting smile.

"I didn't want to get you into trouble…"

"Moony… Will you just cut that out? I'm not upset with you" Rose cheerfully said and shook her sister's shoulder lightly. "Save some of your misery for later. We are going to need it when mom and dad ground us"

Luna laughed. "You are the only person I know who can make fun out of this"

"I guess I have a good sense of humor" Rose joked.

"So you are not angry?" Luna shyly asked again.

Rose rolled her eyes. "For the thousandth time… No. I'm not. But I will be if you keep asking this"

"Oh… Alright, alright. I won't ask again" She answered putting her hands up in defense.

"But I'll tell you. It definitely was worth it" Rose added, grinning.

Luna grinned back. Then, Violet and James came out of Rotwood's office. They didn't seem really happy.

"Uh… Hey mom… Hey dad…" Luna sheepishly smiled. They didn't answer. They just kept glaring at the two. "We are in trouble, aren't we?"

"You sure are" James said with his arms crossed.

Home Economics class, some time later…

"Ms. Park! Wait!" Sun was going to close the door when she heard Rose's voice. She looked around and saw the two girls running as fast as they could. They stopped by the door, trying to catch their breath.

"Rose? Luna? What happened?" she asked.

"Rotwood happened…" Rose simply said.

"I see…" Sun said and rolled her eyes. "Well… Come in. Jake is waiting for you" She whispered the last part into Rose's ear.

"Class, these are our new students. I guess the other teachers already presented them to some of you, but let's keep the tradition anyway. These are Rose and Luna Miller. I want you all to treat them well and make sure they feel welcome here"

Whispers started to circulate and some of them just stared at the two.

"Thanks Ms. Park" Luna said with a smile.

"Call me Sun" She smiled back. "Now you two find a place to sit, so we can start"

Rose sat next to Jake while Luna sat next to Trixie and Spud.

"Jake told us what happened… We were starting to get worried" Trixie told them.

"So… What's the damage?" Jake asked.

"Rotwood called our parents…" Rose answered. "We got detention and we are grounded… Sorry Jake… We will have to cancel our date tonight"

"Awww man!" Jake cried.

"But… Wait a minute. He called your parents just because you two switched roles?" Spud asked, intrigued.

"Yeah! Can you believe it? He called our parents but he didn't do anything with a guy who was spray-painting the school! That doesn't seem fair!" Luna said angrily.

"Because it isn't" Jake added. "Rotwood is up to something. I just know it…"

Rose groaned. "Why can't we have peace?"

"Angel… Don't worry… Rotwood is not a threat. Trust me. You don't need to worry so much about him" Jake said and put a comforting arm around her. "I'll protect you" He whispered and planted a quick kiss on her cheek.

She smiled in response. "Well… I trust you. Rotwood is always all over you, so you must have experience dealing with him"

"You bet" Jake answered, winking.

"Rosie, Moony, we all will watch your back. Rotwood is not going to bother you, right Spud?" Trixie spoke.

"Huh? What? Oh yeah! You can count on me!" Spud said after wandering off for a few seconds.

"Because we are friends for life and friends for real. No one is going to mess you around while we are here"

Luna cheerfully answered Trixie by hugging her and Spud. "I'm so happy I have friends who really care about me! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Uh… You are welcome. But take it easy girl…" Trixie answered, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Thanks guys… I… I really don't know what to say…" Rose was speechless as well. After all these years living as a lone wolf, she was delighted to have so many people looking after her. "I just wonder what Rotwood is up to…"

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him too" Rose felt a hand touch her shoulder. Looking back, they saw Sun standing there with a reassuring smile on her face. "Sorry for eavesdropping, but I felt tension building up around you"

"It's okay. Thanks a lot, Sun" Rose answered.

"It's good to know that you finally remembered my first name" She joked.

Rose sheepishly laughed in response. "I'll try to remember it more often"

"I would be grateful if you do that" Sun answered and went back to the front of the classroom.

"Uh… Does anyone here know how to bake a cake?" Spud asked while reading what Sun had written on the chalkboard.

Everyone stared at Spud for a few seconds and then continued to do what they were doing before.

"Don't worry. I know. I will help you out with this one" Luna told him.

"Thanks Moony…" Spud said while trying to figure out how the mixer works. "So here is where you turn it on…" He pressed the button a couple of times but nothing happened. "I think it's broken"

"Uh… Spud…" Jake said, pointing at the plug.

"Oh!" He plugged it in, but he forgot that the mixer was already turned on. It started to rotate out of control and ended up sending flour everywhere.

"SPUD!" Trixie yelled.

Everyone was covered with the white powder.

"Awww man!" Jake, Rose and Luna cried at the same time.

Lunchtime…

"Yo, Spud! Be more careful next time!" Jake was still a little mad.

"Dude! I already told you I'm sorry!" He snapped back.

"Jake… Chill. It wasn't that bad" Luna tried to calm him down.

"Not that bad? We had to get the flour off us and then clean up all that mess!" Jake grumbled.

"Do you mind if we drop that? I've had enough of people yelling for today…" Rose grunted while resting her head on her hands.

"Oh… Sorry" Jake realized that Rose was getting annoyed.

"Hey! Rose!" They suddenly heard someone say.

"_Courtney?"_ Rose looked up and saw her approaching their table. _"Jake? How does she remember me?"_

"_I don't know…. Maybe…" _

But then the newcomer froze and gasped in shock.

"What? But… you… who… Are you twins?" Courtney finally managed to complete a sentence.

The sisters nodded with a smile. "Maybe I should've told you before" Luna said sheepishly.

"That's… That's awesome! You two are identical!" She said after recovering from the shock. "So… You are Rose and…"

"Well… Actually… She is Rose. My name is Luna.

"Wait… But didn't you say that… I… Can someone explain what is going on here?" Courtney was really confused by now.

"We kind of… switched roles during the first two periods. I went as Rose and she went as me" Luna explained.

"So… You were Luna the whole time?" Courtney questioned.

"Yeah… Sorry about that…"

"It's ok, I guess" She turned to Rose. "I'm Courtney, by the way"

"It's nice to meet you" Rose said with a discreet smirk.

"So… Luna…" Courtney started to chat a little with her.

"_Rose, if you want her to get her memory back, we just have to give her a little potion…"_ She heard Jake communicating with her.

Rose thought for a few seconds._ "Hmmm… I think it's not a good idea. We will have a lot to explain… You know… I think it will be fun to start all over again"_

"_If you say so…"_

"Rose? Do you like Jaren MacArthur?" She suddenly heard Courtney asking her.

"Of course I do! I'm crazy about him! I mean… He is so cute" Rose said cheerfully and glanced at Jake. She smirked when she saw a little trace of jealousy in his face. _"Yep. This will be really fun"_

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><p><strong>Well... What do you guys think?<strong>

**Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon :)**

**Thanks for reading! Cheers!**

**~BlueserDragon  
><strong>


	3. Detention

**Hello folks!  
><strong>

**Here I am again with a new chapter. Hope you like it!**

**Thanks for the reviews! :D  
><strong>

****Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney.****

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3: <strong>**Detention **

After lunch, the day went on rather normally. Rose was quite anxious and excited. She couldn't wait for the final bell. Unfortunately, she would have to spend one more hour in detention.

She finally heard it ringing and started to pack her stuff. Rose waved goodbye to Trixie, Spud and Courtney, who had the last class with her, and headed to the dreaded room. She sighed and knocked the door.

"Come in" Rose heard the annoying voice of the "most beloved" German principal on Earth.

"This is going to be so fun…" she said under her breath.

After getting in, she started to look around. Rotwood was sitting behind his desk and reading some mythology books. There was a big "SILENCE!" written on the chalkboard, although it seemed that nobody had noticed it.

"Ms. Miller, take a seat" He said casually.

Rose dodged some paper balls, planes and other things that were being thrown into the air until she found a seemingly safe place to stay. She moaned and rested her head on the desk while hoping that she wouldn't get out of there with gum in the hair.

"They should put a sign at the door saying 'Welcome to hell', don't you think?" Someone said.

Rose turned around and saw Jake sitting right behind her with a dreamy face. She wondered how she didn't notice him there before.

"Hey there" Jake whispered.

"Hey yourself" Rose replied. "Do you mind if I ask why you are here? I mean… I'm glad to see you, but what did you do this time?"

"Well… someone threw a paper plane at Rotwood during the last period and he assumed it was me. You know he loves me"

"That stinks…" She said with a grimace.

"Well… It will be less boring now that you are here" Jake added with a smirk.

"But don't get used to it. I don't plan to come here really often" Rose answered.

"Oh. Alright then Miss Goody Two-Shoes" Jake said, a little disappointed.

"I didn't mean it like that, Jake…" Rose told him apologetically.

Jake smiled. "C'mon… Let's enjoy the show. This can be kinda fun too. You just have to dodge the flying stuff"

"What can be fun in detention?" She asked curiously.

"You will see. Just watch" Jake told her. "When it's over you will want to come again"

"Don't push your luck Dragon Boy" Then Rose realized something. "Where is Luna?"

"There. She fell asleep" He said pointing at the desk on the corner. "So, I covered her with my jacket"

So that's why she didn't spot him straight away: he wasn't wearing his trademark red jacket. But then something popped into her mind. Rose eyed him suspiciously.

"What? She was an easy target for the trouble-makers. I mean… My Angel's sister is my sister too, right?" He tried to explain himself. But the way Rose was staring at him, it seemed that she didn't bought it.

"Riiiight…" Rose finally smirked in response. "Thanks, by the way"

"No problem babe" He said and embraced her. He looked around until he is spotted someone. "Hey! Tim! What about a little show for my girl here?"

Tim was wearing a black and white outfit. Rose assumed he was a mime. He made an "ok" signal with his hand and started to do his thing.

"He wants to be a professional mime. He is pretty good at it" Jake told her.

The two just watched as he leaned against invisible walls, got stuck inside an invisible box, climbed imaginary stairs and wrapped himself with an invisible rope. Rose was laughing a lot and so was Jake. At one point, Rotwood lowered his book and glared at them.

"Mr. Higgins. Enough of that. Detention is supposed to be a punishment, not a mime show" Rotwood said dryly and continued to read.

Tim dropped his head in disappointment.

Jake sighed. "Hey Tim, it's alright. You did great" He told him with a smile. "You are getting better and better. Here, let me help you" And with that he got up and 'untied' the mime, who was still struggling to get free. "Don't let him put you down, ok?"

Tim smiled and shook Jake's hand. He walked over to Rose, 'made up' a flower and gave it to her. She smiled and grabbed the imaginary object. Then, she was shocked to see a red rose appear out of nowhere in her hands.

"What? But… How…" She looked at Tim, who simply took a bow with a big grin on his face. "Thanks Tim. I really enjoyed it. You are great!"

He took off his hat and went back to where he was sitting before.

"So, did you like it?" Jake asked after sitting by her side again.

"He is amazing!" She answered cheerfully. "It's a pity that Rotwood had to end the fun though"

"Yeah. Sometimes I wish I could just teach him not to be such a jerk…" Jake said clutching his fists.

"Just forget it, okay?" Rose said softly, trying to calm him down.

Then they decided to just sit there together and enjoy each other's company.

"Anxious for today?" Jake asked.

"A lot" She said with such a shine in her eyes that made Jake get lost into them.

"Just more… 20 minutes and we are outta here" Jake added after getting back to reality and checking his watch.

"Crap! Weren't we supposed to be there at 4 o'clock?" She suddenly asked worriedly.

"Yeah. We will be a bit late… Don't worry. Gramps won't mind" He said. "OK… Maybe he will yell a little… But nothing other than that"

She sighed in response.

"Hey… It's okay Rose… You don't need to be perfect all the time. Trust me; you will go insane if you keep up with this"

Rose let a quick laugh escape. "Sorry… But I just can't help it. You know how I am"

"I do" Jake said with a cocky smile until something caught his attention. "hmmm… I think I've just seen something that might cheer you up"

"What?" She curiously asked, turned her attention to where Jake was looking at and gasped in surprise. "Don't tell me they will…"

"Yup. They will. Oh… I just have to film this! Rotwood is gonna get so pissed!"

Everybody at detention just watched with anticipation as the small group sneaked behind Rotwood.

Jake and Rose grinned mischievously and started to count down. "3, 2, 1…"

…

A few minutes later…

Everyone left the detention room laughing so hard that they could barely breathe. Some were holding their stomachs while others couldn't even walk and had to lean against the lockers to recover.

"Dude! Did you see his face?" Jake said imitating Rotwood's expression.

Rose started to laugh again and couldn't answer. "They… and… he… You were right! This was totally worth it!"

"I'm glad I woke up! I would die if I missed that!" Luna spoke.

"Let's see if the clip turned out okay" Jake said and played the video on his cell phone.

They watched it and continued to guffaw.

"It's perfect! Dang! I gotta show this to the others! Do you want a copy?"

"Of course!" Rose and Luna said in unison and grabbed their cell phones.

"Rose? Is this the new model?" Jake asked curiously while examining his girlfriend's one.

"It is… I begged my parents to buy one for me too, but they said my old one is still fine…" Luna grumbled.

Rose nodded sheepishly. "Sorry about that sis… Well… Just send it via Bluetooth and let's get going! We are already…"

At Lao Shi's Pawn Shop…

"…LATE!" Grams yelled when the two teenagers finally arrived. He started to rant in Chinese, as usual, and continued with the verbal assault. "Jake! You told me you wouldn't neglect dragon training anymore!"

"Geez G… Chill… It's just ten minutes. We got detention, that's why we are late" Jake explained.

"Then stop getting detention!" Gramps said dryly.

"It was not my fault. I didn't do anything this time; but Rotwood put the blame on me"

Rose just kept her head down all the time. Then, she finally spoke. "I'm really sorry master… It won't happen again, I promise"

Lao Shi sighed. "It's okay young dragons… Sorry for my outburst…"

"What's the punishment?" Rose asked.

Lao Shi looked up with a slightly confused expression. "Excuse me?"

"The punishment for being late. What is it?" Rose asked again.

Lao Shi blinked a few times and just gave her a warm smile in response. "There's no need for punishment, Rose. At least not for that"

"What? But master…"

"You don't need to be so formal either. Just call me Gramps, Grampa, G, or whatever you like, okay?"

"I… Thanks master… err… I mean… Thanks Gramps. Sorry… It's just the habit" She said sheepishly.

"I see. Don't worry, I assure you that your training will be lighter than it used to be at the Huntsclan" Lao Shi spoke softly. "Let's get started, shall we?"

"Alright" Jake said and cracked his knuckles. "Dragon up!"

"Rose? Are you ready?" Gramps asked her.

She nodded with a shy smile. Rose glanced at Jake, who was smiling at her too, and breathed in. "Alright… Here we go. DRAGON UP!"

And she was engulfed by the magical yellow flames.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... Not much going on here yet.<br>Why I did this filler? well... I don't know exactly... But I have three excuses:**

**1. I don't have the plot of the next chapter really planned out, so I just put this one up to have more time to think it through.  
>2. I wanted to do a little more comedy before the thing really starts rolling.<br>3. Oh. C'mon! Admit it! You liked it when Rotwood got what he deserved. - xD**

**What did they do to him? I'll leave that open for you guys to use your imagination. Remember: The more embarassing, the better :P**

**Well... Thanks for reading!**

**Cheers!**

**~BlueserDragon**


	4. The Clumsy Dragoness

**UPDATE! :D**

**Sorry for the delay, but I just didn't have time or ideas to write the new chapter. But here it is, finally!  
><strong>

**Thanks a lot for all the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4: T<strong>**he Clumsy Dragoness**

Rose opened her eyes as soon as the transformation was complete. She looked around and saw that Jake had his eyes glued on her.

"What?" She asked.

Jake smiled sheepishly and went into her direction. "I'm just happy, that's all" He answered.

"And because you are happy you need to eat me with your eyes?" Rose crossed her arms.

"Well I… Sorry… I just couldn't help it. You look so wonderful" He answered softly.

Then, out of the blue, Fu Dog cleared his throat. "Alright kids… You'll have enough time for that later"

Jake and Rose quickly glanced at each other and then nodded.

"Young dragons, let's go upstairs. Rose, I want to start with a little… Evaluation test" Gramps finally spoke

"Excuse me?" She said, taken aback and a little afraid.

"Don't worry. I don't expect you to succeed in all the trials. I only want to do this to determine the things we have or not to work on the most" Lao Shi told her. "Just try to do your best, okay?"

"B… But… I don't know anything!" Rose cried in despair.

"Wow… calm down Sunshine" Fu Dog said with a chuckle, using the nickname he came up with for her. "As the Old Man said, this is just to see what you know. We won't bash you for failing. Since you weren't born a dragon, there are probably things we need to teach you that we wouldn't need to teach another dragon. But a lot of it it's intuitive. I bet you will do a good job, but you need to be a little bit more confident!"

Rose remained silent for a few seconds, not taking her eyes off the floor. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "Alright. Let's give it a shot"

"Now that's the Rose I know!" Jake said cheerfully.

Upstairs…

"Uh… Gramps? What is this room?" Jake asked in confusion. It was a dark and they couldn't really see how big it was.

"It's a special room for training. The Council and I decided that it was too dangerous to just use the back of the shop or the rooftop, so we made this. At least we will have a lot more privacy and won't have to worry about the people who pass by" Lao Shi explained "And it's a lot more practical too".

Then, he clapped his hands and spoke something in Chinese. When they realized, Rose, Jake, Gramps and Fu were at the Central Park.

"Say what? Gramps! That's awesome! How did we end up here?" Jake asked with excitement.

"Well… Actually kid, we are still inside the shop. You see… This is an illusion. We can turn this room into any place you can think of"

"Really?" Rose was amazed as well "Like… Even Paris or London or…"

"Even the South Pole. But I doubt you'd want to go there. A-goo-goo-goo"

"And that's not the best part. Just watch" Gramps said.

Soon enough, the group started to hear many noises and then the place was full of unicorns.

"Wow" Jake and Rose said in unison.

"So… Ready to start, Rose?" Lao Shy asked calmly.

Rose finally snapped out of the trance and turned her attention to him "I guess so…"

"Only when you are completely sure" He added.

"I… I am" She finally managed to say and turned to the unicorns again.

"Very well" Rose heard the elder dragon talking. "Do what your instincts tell you to do…"

"Wait… What do you mean? Lao Shi? Gramps? Fu? Jake?" She panicked after realizing they were gone.

Rose's ears perked when she heard blasts and shrieks. _"The Huntsclan!"_

And indeed there was a group of five Huntsclan members attacking the unicorns. She was frozen in place for a few seconds, trying to figure out what to do. Finally, she launched herself into the air and flew to their aid.

When the Huntsclan members realized she was approaching, they started to aim their Huntstaffs at her. Rose was fast and avoided all the blasts. Then, she used her tail to hit three of the men. She landed and stood in a defensive position. "Alright Huntschumps! Let's make this quick!"

They all charged and Rose had to defend herself the best way she could. She was experienced with hand to hand combat, so it wasn't such a big trouble. _"kick, block, punch, jump, get down, block, sweep with tail…"_

She was so concentrated that she didn't notice the three other Huntsclan members getting up and charging their staffs.

The dragoness heard the blasts and avoided them in the last second. She went airborne again and decided to try a different approach. Rose breathed in and blew a giant ball of fire.

Or, at least, she tried to. The small bit of flames that came out couldn't burn even a single finger. _"Oh… C'mon! Not now!"_ She tried again, only to feel smoke in her mouth.

Looking down, Rose saw more blasts coming. She tried to dodge them, but it was no use. She fell down with a cry and hit the ground flat on her stomach. It took her several seconds to recover, but when she was going to get up, she heard a voice behind her. A voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"Huntsgirl… So we finally meet again…"

She could only stare in terror as the Huntsman shot a net into her direction. Rose panicked. There was no way she could escape now. She was soon pinned to the ground and struggling to break free, but the sphinx hair started to drain her energy. Finally, Rose transformed back to her human self.

"No… No…" She cried in despair while hearing the Huntsman's laughter.

In a second, everything stopped and Rose felt she was free again, but she didn't move a single muscle.

"Angel? Are you okay?" She heard Jake say worriedly while he rushed into her direction.

"I… I…" She could only stutter. Jake helped her to get up and took her to a bench.

"Rose… Here…" He said and handed her a cup full of water.

She drank the refreshing liquid and then sighed. "I panicked. For a second I forgot this was just an illusion… I… I failed"

"It's alright Rose. It doesn't matter" Then, he turned to Lao Shi. "Gramps! Was this really necessary?" Jake asked, slightly angry.

Lao Shi sighed "I'm sorry Rose… I didn't expect this test to affect you so badly. We did this to see how you would perform under extreme pressure…"

"I understand…" She answered quietly.

"But you didn't fail" Lao Shi added. "The main objective of this test was to make quick decisions and I'd say you handled it pretty well"

"But… I was captured" She replied, slightly confused.

"I know, but that's not the point. You had problems to control your fire breathing"

"Yeah… That's why I was defeated" Rose said sheepishly.

"Don't worry. We will work on that" Lao Shi said with a smile. "You want to stop for today? I don't want to push you too hard"

"What? But we barely started!" Rose said with a sudden change of mood.

"Are you sure about that young dragon?" Lao shi questioned her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. I'm sure" She replied, getting up.

"If you say so… Let's try other tests"

Test of Wisdom in Battle…

"Well… So I'm supposed to defeat whatever creature attacks me, that's right?" Rose asked.

"Exactly. For this test you need a deep knowledge on all kinds of magical creatures" Lao Shi said.

"Don't worry Sunshine. I'm sure you will ace this one!" Fu tried to encourage her.

"Yeah. After all, your knowledge on magical creatures is deeper than Fu's stomach" Jake completed.

"You can bet on… Wait… HEY!" Fu yelled, outraged.

Rose quietly laughed. "Well… Let's start, shall we?"

Gramps nodded and thought about what creature they should start with. Then, a few seconds passed and nothing happened.

"Uh… Gramps?" Rose started, but stopped when she heard a tiny voice coming from below.

"Oi! Over here!" Said the little creature.

"Brownies? Again?" Jake asked, full of surprise. Or rather… Not surprised at all.

Lao Shi just glared in response.

"I though brownies were harmless… I mean… I know they are a little hot-headed, but…" Rose started, but those comments weren't well received by the brownies.

"Harmless? Hot-headed? We'll show you something! ATTACK!"

"Whoa!" She was surprised when the brownies jumped onto her and tackled her to the ground. "Get off me you little… AHHH!"

One of them had bitten her finger really hard, making her scream.

"_C'mon Rose! Think… Think… Wait! Brownies! They like shiny things!__ That's it!"_

She looked around trying to find something she could use. Then, she remembered that she still had her cell phone in her pocket. She dragoned down and grabbed it.

"Rose! This is not the time for a call!" Jake yelled.

Rose just glared at him and looked up to see where the sun was. Then, she angled the cell phone in a way that the screen reflected the light into the brownies eyes.

"Uh… Shiny!" They exclaimed.

She used it to lure them into a nearby tree with a hole in it. Then she chopped off a piece of wood and covered the hole, trapping the brownies inside.

"So, how it was?" She asked while looking at the others. Jake and Fu had their mouths hung open, what made Rose smirk. "Hey. Get your jaws off the ground or someone will trip over them"

Flight skills test…

Now, they were at an unknown place. It was a kind of obstacles course in the middle of a tropical island.

"Gramps? Is this similar to the test I did last year on the Isle of Draco too?" Jake asked.

"It is" Lao Shi replied. "Jake, you'll be her opponent"

"Alright" He turned to Rose. "This is basically a race. You just have to go through the obstacles and get to the finish line first"

"Sounds simple" She commented.

"I wouldn't be so sure. You will race the Mac Daddy Jake here, the fastest dragon in the area" Jake challenged her.

"Ha. Then it will be as easy as taking a candy from a little child. I can beat you with my eyes closed" She snapped back.

"We will see about that…" Jake answered with a smirk.

"Enough talk. It's time for some action!" Fu Dog said and stood over the starting line. "Are you two ready?"

"Bring it on!" They said in unison.

"Ready… Set…" Fu said with that kind of tone you hear when watching street racing movies and then pulled a little red cloth from his folds. "And go" He finished with a light tone and dropped the cloth in a delicate manner, completely destroying the mood. When it touched the ground, both dragons flew off, making Fu spin countless times.

"Sorry Fu!" He heard the two shout from distance.

When the shar-pei finally stopped, his head was still spinning like crazy. "Did… Did anyone catch their license plate?" He said before fainting.

Lao Shi could only shake his head in disbelief.

Meanwhile…

Jake easily avoided all the obstacles (like arrows, lava, rolling rocks and others) while Rose had some difficulties to do so, but they still were head-to-head the whole time.

"Where is the 'fastest dragon in the area' now?" Rose mocked when she gained a little advantage.

"Oh please babe. Do you really think this is all I got? I was holding back! Now, watch this!" Jake said and increased his speed. He shot past Rose, who could only watch with her mouth wide open.

"Wooo! No one beats the Am drag… UGH!" In his few seconds of distraction, Jake didn't notice that he changed slightly his trajectory, making him fly straight into huge tree. "Awww man…" He moaned while sliding down the trunk. "Stars… pretty stars…"

Rose stopped and started to laugh uncontrollably. "Oh my… Jake… You… So… Hilarious… Are you alright?" She finally formed a sentence when she managed to calm down. She landed and helped Jake to get up.

"Yeah… I guess…" Jake answered with his voice cracking a little, making Rose laugh even more.

"Next time you hit the turbo, watch to where you are going" Rose said, ruffling his hair.

"Hey!"

"See ya!" She said and launched herself into the air again.

Jake narrowed his eyes and went after her. No way he was going to let her beat him.

They got into a dense forest and had to dodge all the trees. Since Jake was the more experienced, he was the first to come out of it. "And the winner is… Jake Long! The crowd goes crazy! Yeaah!"

"Kid? Where is Rose?" Fu dog asked, looking around.

"Huh?" Jake also scanned his surroundings and realized she didn't get out of the forest yet. "How great…" He mumbled. "I'll look for her"

He flew back into the vegetation and tried to locate his girlfriend. "Rose?" He called out, but there was no answer. Suddenly, he heard strange noises and decided to investigate. "Ear of the dragon"

He could make out the sound of leaves being moved back and forth and also some occasional groans of anger and frustration. "Stupid vines… ugh…"

Jake chuckled slightly when he recognized Rose's voice.

He walked to where the sounds were coming from and found her tangled by dozens of vines, struggling to break free.

"Need some help up there?"

Rose froze when she heard Jake's voice. She looked down and saw him playfully grinning at her, making her cheeks turn bright red. "Uh… No, thanks. I'm almost there" She lied and resumed her useless efforts.

"Jake? Did you find her?" Lao Shi asked while approaching, until he looked up and saw the clumsy dragoness. "Oh. There you are" He said, trying his best to contain the laughter. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… Just a little… wrapped up…" She said shyly.

"Gramps? Did Jake find…"

Rose covered her face with her hand when she heard Fu Dog approaching. She knew what would come next…

"Hahahahaha! You've got to be kidding me! The American Dragoness defeated by plants! Oh dear…" Fu stopped in the middle of the sentence and started to laugh again. "You are in a really tight situation! Haha! 'Tight situation'! Got it? Hahaha"

Everyone face palmed at the lame joke, especially Rose.

"Are you three going to help me or will you just keep making fun of me?"

Later, after many more tests…

"C'mon Rose! It wasn't that bad!" Jake tried to cheer her up.

Rose just sighed in response. She was sitting on the couch with her head rested on her hands.

She glared at Jake. "Not that bad? I completely blew it… Out all the tests I only succeeded in one or two…"

"Life is not made only of success, Rose. You can't learn anything with it. It's with failures that we learn the most" Lao Shi said.

She gave Lao Shi a little smile.

"I guess this was enough. Tomorrow I will give your first lessons. Based on today's tests I know exactly what we have to work on first. Don't worry. I know you are a good student and I'm sure you'll get everything really fast" Gramps smiled back. "You can go home and rest now"

"Thanks Gramps" Rose said.

Lao Shi took a light bow and turned to Jake "Grandson? Can you give me a little help with something?"

"Sure" He replied and followed his grandfather.

"Hey. Hey. Rose" She suddenly heard Fu Dog calling her.

"Fu?" She turned around and saw him getting onto the couch with something in his mouth.

"Here. I thought you'd want to watch this. Trust me. It's pure gold" He said and gave her a DVD.

"The American Dragon's Worst Moments volume 1? What is this?" Rose asked.

"It's a montage with Jake's most embarrassing mess ups. You can make a copy, if you want. Just please don't tell him anything about this. He will kill me if he finds out I have it"

Rose grinned. "But why are you giving me this?"

"Well… You see… I know you felt a little embarrassed today, but trust me… It wasn't as half as bad as the ones on that DVD"

"Oh… Thanks… I guess…" She said, a bit uncertain.

"Look… Sunshine… You are still a rookie. When you get more experience, you will be probably even a better dragon than Jake himself. I don't like to say this, but… even after almost three years, he didn't change that much. He is still the same ambulant disaster"

"Yeah…" Rose said with a chuckle, remembering his "encounter" with the tree. "But you can't deny he is a great American Dragon, even when he messes up everything"

"I'd rather call that luck… But yeah. He does a pretty good job" Fu admitted.

"Talking about me?" Jake said with his usual cocky tone while he came back.

"No… What makes you think that?" Rose answered with a mellow voice. Then, she whispered into Fu's ear. "You got volume 2 too?"

Somewhere else…

"Master, you wanted to see me?" a cloaked figure asked.

It was a huge, dark and eerie cave. Almost nothing could be seen, except maybe for a pair of glowing yellow eyes at the darkest corner.

"Yes…" Replied the deep and frightening voice. "I believe it's been enough time since our last appearance. Perhaps… It's the right moment to make our move"

"I agree. Do you have a plan?" The cloaked figure asked.

There was a loud roar that shook the whole cave. "Of course I do! Why would I call you here if I didn't have a plan?" The yellow eyes were burning with fury.

"Apologize, master. So, what's the plan?"

"Have you ever heard of the Necklace of Chromarus?"

"I have, but… It's just a legend"

"Oh, really? That would really be a problem" The deep voice said sarcastically. "But I wouldn't be so sure about that…"

"What? You are saying that it really exists?"

"Finally, you are starting to understand. It took me years to translate this spell book and decipher the complex codes within it" The said object was thrown into the ground, close to the mysterious person. "But all this effort was worth it. I finally managed to understand how the necklace really works, and I believe it is the key to our victory".

"That sounds splendid. And where is the necklace now, then?"

"That, my dear, is your task… To find it"

"What? With all due respect, master, but how am I supposed to find a necklace nobody knows that even exists? It might take months! Even years!" Chang asked, finally removing her hood.

"That's not my problem! I don't care about how long it takes! Just find it! If you can't do it, then I'll find someone else who can. Now go, before I lose my patience!"

"As you wish, master" Chang sighed.

"Ah… By the way, I heard rumors that the American Dragon now has a partner. Is that true?"

"It is true master. It's a dragoness actually"

"Interesting… I didn't see that one coming" The Dark Dragon said thoughtfully. "Maybe… I should pay them a visit to meet her"

* * *

><p><strong>Maybe the last part should've been made into another chapter, but I felt that it would be a nice place to put it, since I wanted to show that although everything seems to be going well, there's actually something really bad happening at the same time.<strong>

**Yeah. Rose's tests are similar to the ones of the "Dragon Summit" episode. Mainly beause I couldn't think of anything different to write :S  
><strong>

**So... What's the "Necklace of Chromarus"? You will find out later.  
>I'm terrible at coming up with names, so if it sounds lame, sorry about that too - hehe.<br>**

**So... What do you think about this one? :P  
>I hope it's at least enjoyable.<br>**

**Please, review!**

**~BlueserDragon  
><strong>


	5. Burning

**Sorry if this took a little while to be done, but I finally managed to finish it! (it's kind of long too) :D**

**Again, thanks a lot for the reviews! You are all awesome! I hope you like this one too.**

**And BIG BIG thanks to Ada69! She was kind enough to beta-read this chapter and fix my silly mistakes. :D  
><strong>

**Enough talk! Let's get into it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 5: Burning<strong>

Rose landed in front of the shelter and dragoned down. She sighed and knocked on the door, waiting for the troll who was taking care of security.

"Who is it?" He said, looking through a small frame.

"Rose Miller…" She answered uninterestedly.

"Password?"

"Fairy dust, fairy dust, can someone give me a sweeping brush?" Rose spoke while rolling her eyes. _"Who was the 'genius' that came up with this password?" _She thought, annoyed.

The troll immediately closed the frame and unlocked the door. "Welcome Ms. Rose," he said after opening it and taking a bow.

"Thanks Harry," she answered, a little more sweetly.

Rose entered and walked past all the little buildings until she reached the block number 4. She cleaned her shoes on the carpet and got into her house.

"Sis! You are home!" Rose was greeted by a cheerful Luna.

"It's nice to see you too," she mumbled in response.

Luna caught that and eyed her sister suspiciously. "Looks like someone's in a bad mood…"

"Yeah… Whatever…"

"What happened? Dragon training went bad?" Luna asked, now a little more concerned.

"Sort of…" Rose threw herself on the couch and let herself sink in it with a long sigh.

Luna sat by her side. "But… Lao Shi can't be that annoying… Or is he?"

"No. He is great… It was my fault anyway. I screwed up everything…" Rose spoke while straightening her hair.

"Oh…" Now Luna understood. "Rose… Chill. It was just your first day. Tomorrow you'll do better."

"I hope so…" She answered.

Violet came into the living room and spotted her daughter. A huge smile crept over her face while she ran in her direction and embraced Rose in tight hug.

They remained silent for a few seconds until Rose finally spoke. "Uh… Mom?"

Violet let go of her slightly embarrassed. Rose simply gave her a warm smile in response. "I'm glad to see you too," she said softly.

"So sweetie… How was your day?" She asked, sitting on the couch.

"Fine, I guess…" She said a bit uncertain. Her mother's questioning eyes were sparkling with curiosity. "It was a bit messy though."

"I see…" Violet answered. "How was the dragon training then?"

But before Rose could continue, Luna noticed a strange smell.

"Mom? I don't want to interrupt but… Something is burning," she said.

"WHAT?" She jumped and ran back to the kitchen. "How great…"

Rose and Luna peeked through the doorframe to see if their mother needed help.

"Don't worry girls… I'll take care of this…" She turned to Rose "We will talk more during dinner, okay?"

She nodded and they went back to the living room. "See? Mom is a great cook, but she fails sometimes too," Luna told her sister.

"Alright… I got it…" Rose answered with an annoyed tone, pushing Luna lightly.

Some time later…

"What a day!" James exclaimed with exhaustion as he entered the house. "It feels so weird when your friends can't remember anything about you."

"Welcome to the club dad," Rose said playfully.

"Everything for a good cause, huh?" He said in response, receiving a hug from her.

He was welcomed by the rest of the family, and they sat at the table to have dinner.

"Rose? Are you okay?" James asked her daughter. It was the second time that day he saw her down.

"Yeah… I'm just… Thinking…" She answered.

"About?" He continued to question her.

"Nothing important," she said with a rather unconvincing voice.

"She had a tough day," Luna answered casually.

"Moony!" Rose glared at her.

Violet turned her daughter. "What exactly happened?"

"Hmm… I…" She started, but was cut off by her sister once again.

"She screwed up dragon training."

Rose covered her face in shame with a moan. "Thanks a lot sis…"

"You are welcome," Luna replied with a childish tone. "Rose, just chill, will you?"

"How so?" Her mother asked with concern.

"Well… Lao Shi tested me to see what skills we have to work on the most. Turns out that I need A LOT of training. I succeeded in only two of the tests."

"You needed to pass in how many of them?" James asked.

"Actually, none…"

"Then you shouldn't be so worried about that, sweetheart."

"I know… Everyone told me that… But… It's just the way I am. In the Huntsclan they always demanded me to be perfect all the time… I guess I still haven't lost that," she added sheepishly.

The Huntsclan was always a touchy subject. They had already spent a whole day talking about Rose's past in the clan, and they knew how hard it was for her.

Violet sighed. "I understand, sweetie. But try not to be so hard on yourself. Nobody wants you to be perfect anymore. We just want you to do your best, okay?"

"Okay…" Rose lifted her head again.

"Is there anything else troubling you?" Her father asked.

"Hmmm…" Rose thought for a few seconds about what to say. "Are you two upset with me?"

Both parents looked at Rose in confusion and then glanced at each other.

"What? Why would we be upset?" Violet exclaimed.

"Because of earlier today… Rotwood and… You know…" Rose answered.

"Oh… That?" James spoke with a little chuckle. "Darling… Of course we aren't upset. It wasn't such a big deal, really."

"You seemed pretty angry…" Rose cried.

"Rose… It's not like that. I know we gave you an earful back then… But that's what parents do. We weren't angry. Just… a little… disappointed," Violet added.

"If we give you a lecture or punishment, it's not because we are mad. It's because we love you and because we only want what is best for you," James explained.

Rose shyly smiled in response. "Sorry if that sounded silly… But… I don't know… I was feeling awkward. I mean… I just got back into the family and… It was the first time you seemed to be angry at me…"

James finally understood why she was acting that way. "It's okay Rose. We understand."

"Thank you… Mom… Dad… I… I love you," she said after hesitating a little. It felt weird to say that so suddenly, but she needed to say it anyway.

James and Violet glanced at each other with a warm feeling coming up through their throat. After finally managing to catch their breath, they turned to Rose with their eyes sparkling.

"We love you too sweetie."

"So… We are not grounded anymore?" Luna tentatively said.

"Not a chance," James answered dryly (but in a playful way), making Luna's face fall in disappointment.

"Nice try sis," Rose said with a grin.

"And just for the record, I didn't like that Principal Rotwood at all. He made a fuss out of nothing and seems to be a hypocrite," James commented. "Besides, he asks too many questions. It felt more like an interrogatory. Why does it seem like he wants to suck every bit of information he can from us?"

"Rotwood knows about the magical world. He wants to expose it, but right now he has no proof," Rose explained. "I think he saw my birthmark… That's why he put us in his blacklist. He wants to know if we are related to the Huntsclan…"

"As if we didn't already have enough problems…" Violet mumbled. "Girls, try to stay out of trouble. I don't have a good feeling about this."

"You don't need tell us twice…" Luna answered.

"I swear… Next time he starts asking too many questions, I'll punch him right in the eye," James said, outraged.

"Dad… Calm down… Let's just drop that, okay?" Rose told him.

He nodded, but then, Luna remembered something.

"Uh… Dad? You said you don't like Rotwood, right?"

"Yeah?" He answered, getting curious.

"Then, I think you won't mind watching this," Luna grabbed her cell phone, opened up the clip from detention and handed it to her father.

"What is this?" James asked while grabbing the cell phone.

A huge grin appeared on his face as soon as he finished watching it. "Well… This has just made my day." Then, he handed it to his wife. "Honey. Take a look at this."

She watched it and started to laugh. "Well… He deserved it."

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling it is already an Internet hit," Luna said with a chuckle.

Rose grinned "I wouldn't be surprised."

Later…

"Now, sweetheart, go watch TV or do anything you want. Try to distract yourself a little and enjoy the evening," Violet told Rose after dinner.

"So… Do you have anything in mind?" Luna asked as they went upstairs.

Rose thought a little before answering. "Actually, I do," she said with a grin and showed her sister the DVD.

"The American Dragon's Worst Moments Volume 1? Wait… Isn't this Jake?" Luna asked, confused.

"Yep. And if I know Jake well… You think you can handle one hour of laughing your head off?"

"Absolutely! I'll grab some snacks!" Luna said and ran back downstairs.

_"Yeah… I guess it will be fun." _Rose got into their bedroom, put the DVD into the player and waited for her sister to come back.

Halfway into the DVD…

On the screen, Jake was fighting an ogre (or rather… Showing off next to him). Then, he was grabbed by the creature and thrown into a nearby fountain, where his head got stuck.

"Hahaha! Did you see that?" Luna was already rolling on the bed.

Then, he got out and charged at the ogre. Jake tried to use his tail, but once again he got caught. The ogre spun him countless times, and the dragon ended up with his head stuck in the same fountain, but this time inside a stone hippopotamus.

This made the girls completely burst out with laughter.

Then something came up on the screen. They stopped laughing for a second in order to read it. "He was defeated by…" Luna couldn't even finish the sentence while Rose was too busy trying to contain her laughter to say anything.

"…defeated by his STUCK UP head!" Rose finally managed to complete with a tiny voice, since she was out of air.

Rose and Luna didn't recall the last time they had laughed so much. Rose was glad that Fu lent her the DVD. It certainly helped her to forget that messy day. She never imagined that Jake's sloppiness could be so funny. And with the video editing, it turned outrageously hilarious. In the back of her mind, though, she made herself a note to never get that floppy.

On a different scene, Jake could be seen flying victoriously around Lao Shi's shop, until he suddenly turned back to human form and fell down with a girly scream.

"Rose… I… I don't know if I can take much more of this… My stomach is hurting," Luna cried between the laughs.

"Oh Gosh… I need air," Rose gasped and paused the movie.

The room was a mess: chips, candies and empty cans everywhere. But the girls didn't care. They were just having fun.

"Don't you feel bad for laughing at Jake?" Luna asked after wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Nope. Why would I?" Rose answered.

Luna raised an eyebrow "Wouldn't he feel embarrassed? I mean… He is your boyfriend."

"Hmmm… Yeah… But who cares? What Jake doesn't know can't hurt him."

"Whatever you say, Rose…" Luna grabbed the remote. "Ready for more?"

"What are you waiting for?" Rose snatched it out of Luna's hand and pressed play.

It took less than a second for them to burst out in laughter again at Jake being used by mountain trolls as a soccer ball. On the top of the screen, there was a score. It read: "Trolls 5 x 0 AmDrag", with the trolls getting a new point every time they kicked Jake. Finally, he was sent flying into a nearby wall, where he returned to his normal state but with stars circling his head. "TROLLS WIN!" started to blink on the screen.

Some time later, they were interrupted by Rose's cell phone. She paused the movie and looked at the caller ID.

"Who is it?" Luna asked, still giggling.

"Guess who?" She simply said. Rose tried to regain her seriousness and answered the call. "Hey sweetie."

"Angel? Are you okay?" She heard Jake ask with a concerned tone.

"Yeah. I'm better now. I just saw a great movie that lightened up my mood," she answered with a chuckle. She tried her best not to laugh, but her voice cracked a little. Luna, on the other hand, was laughing her head off.

"That's great! What movie it was?" Jake questioned her, clueless.

"Hmmm… I'll tell you later…" She spoke with a kind of uncertain tone. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Well… I'm gonna do the night patrol now. If you aren't busy… I was wondering if you could come with me?"

"Well… I'm not sure. I'm still grounded. Wait, I'll ask dad," she said and left the room.

She found James walking through the corridor. "Dad? Jake called. He asked if I could help him with the night patrol. May I?"

He thought a little, then looked at his daughter's sparkling eyes. James sighed. "Fine. But be back before nine."

"Thanks!" She squealed and hugged him.

"But only the night patrol!" He shouted after Rose went flying back to her room. "I guess she didn't even hear it…" He murmured.

"He said yes!" Rose exclaimed.

"Great!" Jake said cheerfully.

"Where are you now?"

"Right here."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rose confusedly asked.

She was answered by some weird noises.

"Uh… Rose…" Luna was pointing at the window.

She walked over to it and opened the curtain to see a grinning Jake happily waving at her.

"CRAP!" She yelped, immediately shutting the curtain. "Turn off the TV NOW!"

Luna frantically started to look for the remote, but she couldn't find it anywhere. "Where is it?"

"Screw it!" Rose ran to the TV and unplugged it. Then, she ran back to the window and opened it.

"Uh… What was that for?" Jake inquired.

"What was what?" Rose lied.

"You were acting weird." The dragon raised an eyebrow.

"I was?" She nervously asked, trying to sound confused.

Jake just nodded.

"Uh… Why don't we just forget that? We have a city to patrol," Rose said while turning into dragon and getting out of the house.

Jake stared at her for a while and then just shrugged. "Alright."

Rose mentally sighed in relief. "By the way, how did you get in here? I thought the security was tight."

"Pfff… Baby, the AmDrag has privileges. No passwords needed," Jake answered with a cocky tone.

"You sneaked in, didn't you?" She asked with her arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

"Errr… Well… I…" He nervously tried to say something, but ended up just scratching the back of his neck. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Some time later, in the skies of New York…

"Now, seriously… Why were you acting that way?"

"You just can't give up, can you, Dragon Boy?" Rose loved to fly at night, feeling the light breeze, watching the beautiful sky and the city lights. "What if I say it's none of your business?"

"C'mon Rose! Please! I promise I won't tell anyone!" Jake begged.

Rose pretended to think a little. "No… I definitely won't tell you."

"You don't trust me?" He asked a little hurt.

"No… It's not that… I… Just don't want to talk about it."

"Oh… Sorry. I didn't mean to be nosey," Jake answered sheepishly.

"It's okay," she said, holding back some laughs.

"But I repeat: You are acting really weird today. And what is so funny? You are laughing nonstop since we left your house."

"I'm just remembering that movie. It was hilarious."

"What was it called again?"

"Uhh… I forgot…" Rose said inwardly. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" She asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah…" Jake answered with a distant voice.

"Jake? Do you think I'll be a good American Dragon?" Rose suddenly asked.

"Huh? Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn't you?" Jake answered. Then, realization dawned on him. "Awwww… Is my angel feeling insecure?" He said with a sweet and way too mellow voice.

"NO!… Uh… I mean…" She paused and then sighed. "I guess you are right…"

"What exactly are you afraid of?" Jake inquired, now more seriously.

"I don't know… I'm afraid of… Not doing a good job maybe? What if it's best that I just stay as a not-so regular human girl instead of the second American Dragon? That's a lot of responsibility."

"The last part is true, it's really a big responsibility, but the rest is nonsense." He paused, thinking about what to say. "Look at me… If such a loser can be the American Dragon, why can't a girl like you do a good job?"

"Don't say that! You are not a loser!" She said exasperatedly.

Jake chuckled. "Actually, I am," he said, looking at the moon. "I screw everything up so many times… In school, with my family, with my friends… with you… And especially as the American Dragon… I wonder why the council hasn't replaced me with someone more competent."

Rose was shocked. She had never seen that side of Jake before. It made her love him even more, if that was even possible.

"Rose… You are the complete opposite of me. You are responsible, smart, careful, skillful…" He trailed off. "For all I know, everyone will probably prefer you over me in no time…"

"Jake… No…" Rose wanted to say something, but she didn't know what.

"You know it's true. Otherwise you wouldn't have been laughing your head off for the last hour or so…" Jake glanced at her and chuckled when he saw her turning pale. "Yeah… I knew about that DVD… I saw Fu Dog give it to you."

_"Congratulations Rose!" _She felt terribly guilty now. "Look… Jake… I… I'm sorry… I…"

"It's okay. I thought it would make you feel better." He smiled. "I don't mind that you watched it… You see it live everyday anyway" He gave a quick laugh. "But it was funny, wasn't it? I know I'm such a klutz…"

There was a long and awkward silence afterwards.

"Jake… You are not a loser. You can be a lot of things, but you are not, in any way, a loser." This caused Jake to just stare at her. "I know you mess up sometimes… But you always find a way to fix everything. That is why you are the American Dragon, Jake. You know exactly what to do, even when it seems that nothing will work. If that's not being a hero, then I don't know what is."

"Thanks Rose…" Jake smiled at her. "Yeah. I was right. You ARE a great American Dragon… well… Dragoness, I mean."

They exchanged a warm smile while still flying through the city.

"Just a question… If you knew about the DVD… Then why did you keep asking me about it?"

"You look so cute when you are nervous… How could I miss that opportunity?" He answered mockingly.

"Jake, you are impossible!" Rose laughed.

"Yep, that's me."

They were so distracted with each other that they didn't notice the shadow that advanced towards them. It grabbed Rose and dragged her downwards.

"JAKE!" She screamed trying to break free from the shadow.

"ROSE!" He dived and went after her.

The dragoness finally managed to blow a ball of fire that consumed the shadow. Rose opened her wings just in time avoid colliding with the ground. She landed at the dark alley in a fighting stance, with Jake coming shortly after.

"Are you okay?" He asked

"I'm fine. But what was that?" Rose inquired while more shadows appeared and encircled them. "Or rather… What are those things?"

Jake widened his eyes in realization. "Shade Demons… That means…"

"American Dragon… We meet once again…" the sinister voice of the Dark Dragon echoed through the alley, followed by a long and thunderous laugh.

* * *

><p><strong>I originally planned this to be an action chapter, but the ideas kept coming and I didn't want to erase anything of it. So, I decided to add the classic cliffhanger here, to make it more interesting. Isn't it nice? :P<strong>

**Do you think you can spot the episodes I made references to here? :P**

****I guess you all know what will happen next. :P****

**Oh... And Ada: THANKS A LOT! :D  
><strong>

**Please, leave your review! I will really appreciate it!**

**~BlueserDragon**


	6. A Dark Night

**Alright guys! Time for some action! I hope you like it! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own "American Dragon: Jake Long" or any of the characters/ episodes. They belong to Disney.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6: A Dark Night<strong>

"Dark Dragon…" Jake answered with venom in his voice.

"Well… It's been a while…" The evil dragon snapped his fingers. "Disappear. This is between them and me."

And with these words, the shade demons vanished. Rose could just look around in confusion, trying to find out where the voice was coming from. She was actually terrified. She had read about the Dark Dragon in many of the Huntsclan books and knew what he was capable of.

"What do you want?" Jake asked, also trying to locate his foe.

"Control over the world. What else would I want? Humans aren't worthy of their current position. The magical creatures need to open their eyes and see that they can make a change," he replied with a deep growl. Then, the Dark Dragon chuckled. "But for now, I would be glad if you introduced me your new friend… or rather… girlfriend. I've never seen her before."

A chill went down Rose's spine. _"This just can't be good…"_

"Stay away from her!" Jake snapped angrily.

"That is no way to reply a polite request, young boy," said the Dark Dragon with sarcasm. "But I see you really care about her. Come to think of it… I believe you never told me your actual name… Wait… It's Jake Long, isn't it?"

"At least you got that right!" Jake yelled after finally spotting two yellow eyes. He lunged into the air to try a direct attack.

But that didn't surprise the Dark Dragon at all. Jake shut his eyes when he felt himself being thrown against the wall. Trying to recover from the pain, he could barely get up.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?" He spoke and walked over to a petrified Rose. "So… What's your name, my dear?" His voice was slithering like venomous snake. "And where do you come from?"

Rose tried to do something, but she couldn't. She thought it was the fear paralyzing her, but it wasn't. Rose finally realized she was under some kind of spell or trance. She moved her mouth, but no sound came out from it.

"Don't worry… I won't hurt you," the Dark Dragon added. Rose gasped. She could feel his cold claw gently brushing against her neck. "At least not yet…" And then she felt a sharp talon scratching her scales. He repeated the question: "What's your name?"

"Ro… Rose," she finally managed to stutter.

"Rose…" The Dark Dragon whispered with amusement. "Such a beautiful name… It certainly fits you."

Jake was just observing from distance. He was terrified of that claw on Rose's neck. It made him stay frozen in place.

"I'll make a proposal… Would you like to join me and be one of the ones to rule the world?" The Dark Dragon asked maliciously.

"I told you to stay away from her!" Jake finally charged and tried to attack from behind, but once again the Dark Dragon was able to hit him with his tail.

The Dark Dragon couldn't resist taunting him. "Pathetic…" Then, he was shocked to find that the American Dragon vanished in a blue mist. Turning his attention back to the other direction, the Dark Dragon saw Jake holding a trembling Rose in his arms. That made him furious.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked softly.

She just nodded in response.

"A doppelganger? How unoriginal," the Dark Dragon mocked.

"But it worked," Jake snapped back.

The Dark Dragon roared. "Let Rose make her own decision! I'll give you two one last opportunity… Join me or face your destruction!"

Now Rose finally recovered her courage. "Read my lips: not… a… chance! And it's American Dragoness to you!"

"Very well…" And with a scowl, he shot a giant black and blue fireball. "It was your choice!"

The two barely managed to avoid it, and the battle began.

Jake and Rose shot many fireballs at the enemy, but they didn't seem to have any effect.

"Jake! It's not working!" Rose yelled. She tried again, but this time no flames came out. "Oh… Not again!"

Jake widened his eyes when he saw the Dark Dragon fly higher and then dive in Rose's direction. "Look out!" He tried to warn her.

But it was too late. The Dark Dragon grabbed her and smashed her into the ground.

"ROSE!" Jake flew straight into the Dark Dragon's direction, hit him with all his strength, and carried Rose to a safer place.

"I'm okay," she tried to reassure him, although she sounded a bit dazed.

"Stay here," Jake said with a serious tone.

"What?" She gasped in shock.

"He is too dangerous. I'll take care of him," Jake told her.

"Jake! He will kill you!" Rose yelled desperately. "We have to fight together!"

"No. You still can't fully control your powers! He will kill YOU if we keep this up!" Jake looked back and saw that the Dark Dragon was getting up again. "I can handle it! Please, trust me."

Rose didn't have time answer. Jake turned around and charged at the Dark Dragon again.

"How noble of you," the evil dragon remarked while they were fighting. "But you know you are no match for me."

"If I recall well, last time we met I kicked your butt!" It was Jake's turn to mock him.

"Last time I was being nice with you! But now I have no reason to hold back!" He grabbed Jake and tried to throw him into the wall, but Jake was able to use his wings as brakes and counterattack.

"I have news Dark Dumb, I've gotten better too!" Jake exclaimed with pride. He avoided the flames shot by the Dark Dragon and tried to hit him with the tail.

Unfortunately, the Dark Dragon was already waiting for that. He charged his hands with some kind of energy and then shot lightning straight at Jake, making him fall to the ground with a scream.

"That is true, but you still have the same weaknesses," the Dark Dragon spoke and shot more lightnings. "Your overconfidence is the biggest of them."

Jake somehow managed to avoid those and stood in a defensive position, waiting for his foe's next move.

"And so is yours," Jake replied.

"You underestimate my powers!" The Dark Dragon roared.

"Then give me your best shot, Dark Freak!" Jake yelled and went airborne.

"As you wish…" Without saying anything else, he attacked Jake at top speed.

It was a devastating blow. It sent Jake flying several feet backwards. When he finally started to recover his senses, he was shocked to see that the Dark Dragon was right next to him. Jake was hit again, again and again.

The Dark Dragon was way too fast for him. At each passing second, it seemed harder for Jake to counterattack. His body and mind started to falter because of the pain, but it got even worse when, besides the blows, Jake started to be hit by the Dark Dragon's lightnings.

Rose watched with terror as the fight unfolded in front of her eyes. She could feel Jake's pain and it was making her angrier and angrier. She couldn't take it for much longer. _"I gotta do something!"_

The fight was moving towards Central Park, and the American Dragoness decided that it was time to get into the action. Jake needed her.

The Dark Dragon finally released a blast of flames that made Jake fall motionless on the ground. He laughed with delight. "Do you think that was enough, my dear American Dragon?"

Jake tried to get up, but he was too hurt and feeling weak. Then, he finally managed to get on his knees and looked up at those yellow eyes. "You will have to do better," Jake spoke with a chuckle.

"You fool…" The Dark Dragon growled and prepared to deliver the final attack…

He never saw Rose shooting into his direction like a bullet. It was a direct hit and the Dark Dragon crashed on the nearby trees, making them all fall.

"Don't you dare to hurt him again!" She yelled with pure anger.

"Rose… no…" Jake tried to do something, but he collapsed on the ground.

"Silly girl… Your little boyfriend didn't even tire me. Do you think you have a chance?" The Dark Dragon asked with a scowl.

"Actually, I do," Rose said with a smirk. "Bring it on!"

"You will regret this," he snapped back and charged at top speed again, but this time he was shocked to discover that Rose knew how to block his attack. "How did you…"

The Dark Dragon continued with his rapid blows, but she continued to defend herself with amazing agility. Rose was just waiting for an opportunity to make her move. When he tried a straight punch, instead of blocking, Rose jerked backwards quickly and did a flip, ending up behind the Dark Dragon.

"HIYA!" She hit her opponent with a powerful knife-hand strike.

The Dark Dragon roared in pain and turned around just in time to block Rose's next blow.

They kept exchanging attacks, some of them hitting their target, but the fight was even so far.

"You are more skilled than I thought," the Dark Dragon admitted.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Rose spoke out with a quick smirk.

The dragoness swung her tail, but the Dark Dragon dodged it and tried to hit her with a left hook. In response, she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Who is the silly girl now?" She mocked him.

"You," he simply answered.

Rose felt the Dark Dragon shock her with a really strong electric shock that came out from his hands. She instinctively released him, and the Dark Dragon took advantage of the situation to whip her with his tail.

She crashed into the ground and took a few seconds to get up again. Her foe landed right in front of her with a victorious grin on his face.

"That was a low blow," Rose snarled.

"All is fair in love and war," the Dark Dragon spoke. "Do you give up now?"

"Forget it!" She yelled and attacked him with a battle cry.

"And here we go again," he said and also charged.

They crossed a few inches apart, quickly looking at each other's eyes. The fight seemed far from over.

Both dragons did a 180 degree turn and continued the clash, starting to get into a spiral trajectory, going higher and higher. They were throwing themselves at each other, breathing fire and trying to cause as much damage as possible.

"Do you have a fear of heights?" The Dark Dragon suddenly asked.

Rose looked down with the corner of her eyes and her heart skipped a beat. She couldn't even see the ground anymore.

He tried another attack while she was distracted, but Rose saw it coming and dodged it.

"No, I don't," Rose replied with a cold tone.

"Well… You'll have now!" Without warning, the Dark Dragon wrapped his arms around her and dived, taking her down with him.

Rose tried to break free from his iron grip, but it was no use. "Get off me!"

"Hold yourself, little girl, 'cause we are going all the way down," the Dark Dragon announced.

The dragoness finally realized what he was doing and it really wasn't good. She continued to struggle and desperately tried to open her wings to stop falling, but the Dark Dragon wasn't going to let her go.

Rose's heart stopped when she saw the ground getting closer at each passing second. _"This is it…" _She thought just before shutting her eyes, waiting for the impact. The last thing she heard was a scream.

...

Jake came back to himself when he was struck by a feeling of sheer terror. For a second he felt his stomach twisting as if he was in a free fall. This confused the boy until he looked around and spotted a little dot high in the sky.

"Eye of the dragon," Jake whispered and tried to see what was going on. "What the heck is he doing?" Then, his heart started to race when he saw who the Dark Dragon was holding and that sick feeling in his stomach returned. "Oh no…"

Ignoring all the pain from the injuries, he quickly got up and flew in their direction, trying to reach Rose, but he didn't make it in time. "NOOO!"

The impact produced a big cloud of dust that arose and covered everything. Jake shielded his face with both arms and a feeling of dread suddenly washed over him.

The cloud slowly started to clear, but Jake was afraid of opening his eyes. He searched through his feelings and, to his relief, he still could still feel Rose's heartbeat. But that didn't reduce the anger he was feeling towards the Dark Dragon.

Out of nowhere, shade demons appeared and grabbed Jake's arms, immobilizing him. "What? Get off me you stupid shadows!"

"Easy now, Jake. You don't want me to hurt your precious girlfriend, do you?" He heard the Dark Dragon speaking.

Jake turned his attention to him and was terrified to see the Dark Dragon holding an unconscious Rose by the back of her head and with his other claw dangerously close to her neck once again.

"You…" He jerked forward, but the shade demons had a strong grip on him.

"Looks like I've won," the Dark Dragon spoke with delight. "You know… I could finish you both off right now…"

Then, there was a very long silence, filled with a mortal tension. It seemed that the Dark Dragon was simply enjoying the moment and trying to push Jake over the edge.

"Or maybe I could just kill her instead…" He added and glanced at Jake, whose pale expression made an evil smirk creep over the Dark Dragon's face.

"No…" Jake mouthed.

"Yes… The grief would eat you up from the inside… All the suffering would turn you into a darker being… Thus making it easier for the dark magic to corrupt you…" The Dark Dragon said more to himself more than to anyone else.

"Please… Don't…" The young boy pleaded. All the perseverance of his voice was finally gone. He wished that everything was just a nightmare; that he would wake up and see Rose safe next to him. Tears started to slide down his face.

Seeing the American Dragon so helpless and desperate made the Dark Dragon even more satisfied. Then, he looked at Rose. "Still… it would be such a waste… She has so much potential," he spoke thoughtfully.

Jake watched with his eyes wide open as the Dark Dragon played around with his talon.

"It's funny… I can't do it… It feels so wrong…" He finally admitted. "I guess her pretty face got me," the Dark Dragon added with a quick laugh.

This made Jake get speechless.

"Consider yourself lucky. I'll spare her life," he told Jake and ordered the shade demons to disappear. Then, he gently put Rose down on the grass and turned around. "I have more important things to take care of, so I've got to be on my way."

"Is this a trick?" Jake finally found his voice again.

"Surprisingly, no," he answered. "Until we meet again, American Dragon. Perhaps by then you two will see the truth and join the right side."

And with that, the Dark Dragon disappeared in a blue mist while an evil laughter filled air.

It took Jake several minutes to understand what had just happened. While he was glad that everything turned out okay, a thousand thoughts were running through his mind.

He suddenly shook them all off and ran over to his unconscious girlfriend. "Rose? Rose?" He shook her lightly.

She mumbled something and slowly opened her eyes. "What… What happened?" Then, in a second, she remembered everything. "Where is he?" Rose asked frantically.

"He is gone," Jake answered, trying to calm her down, although something about his voice sounded weird.

"Did you defeat him?" She questioned Jake.

Jake hesitated and looked down.

"Jake?" Rose lifted his face and saw all the terrifying events that Jake experienced replaying in his eyes like on a television screen.

They simply stared at each other for several minutes. Neither of them could say a single word.

"Jake… We… We failed," Rose finally stuttered.

He sighed. "What matters is that we are still alive…"

"Can't you see? He could've killed us!" Rose shouted.

"I know…" Jake's face fell again.

She groaned in response. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"What?" Jake asked in confusion.

"If you had listened to me and let me fight with you, maybe we could have a chance!" Rose was furious.

"I was trying to protect you!" Jake snapped back.

Rose made a scowl. "Protect me? You can barely take care of yourself! He beat you up, and I had to fight him on my own! I felt so safe…" She added sarcastically.

"I'm sorry! But we are talking about the Dark Dragon, Rose! Just a few dragons faced him and survived!"

"Hello? Ex-Huntsgirl here! I spent more than ten years of my life training to fight dragons!"

"Dragons… But not the Dark Dragon!" Jake argued.

"It makes no difference! We are a team, Jake! We are supposed to fight side-by-side in any situation!" Rose yelled. She couldn't believe how stubborn he was.

"I didn't want to lose you again!" Jake raised his voice.

"Jake…" She tried to say something, but all she could do was put a hand on her forehead and groan. "I can understand that, but… I can take care of myself," Rose said more softly. "And I can't lose you either, Jake. You have to understand it too. We always will face risks…"

"But…" Jake tried to say.

"Jake… I'm gonna ask you something… Do you really trust me?" She cut him off.

"Of course… Why would…" Jake was really confused.

"Because when you told me to hide, I felt that you didn't," she spoke more seriously.

"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just that I thought…"

"You thought I didn't have a chance against the Dark Dragon," she completed. "It's the same thing."

Jake stared at her, but then just nodded with his head down. "I'm sorry."

The dragoness sighed and put a hand on his shoulder. "Please Jake, just don't be overprotective," Rose said with a smile. "I know what I'm doing. I'm not a little girl anymore. And… If we keep worrying so much about each other, it will be even more dangerous."

"You are right…" Jake admitted sadly.

"Well… There's no point crying over spilled milk… Let's just forget all of this and go back home." Rose spoke and tried to get up, but her legs faltered.

"Rose!" Jake kneeled down by her side.

"I'm okay… I think…" Rose answered before finally feeling her injuries. She moved her arms and legs to check if anything was broken. "Where is this damn pain coming from?"

"Wait…" Jake said and started examine her. "I think your wing is broken…"

"What?" Rose tried to spread her wings and winced when a terrible pain shot through the right one. She started to grunt and moan while Jake helped her.

"Easy. Keep them still. And don't dragon down. Trust me… The pain is a lot worse in human form," he told her. Rose nodded in response.

"How in the world did I come out of that with just a broken wing?" She asked with amazement.

"Because you're one hell of a woman," Jake joked. "No, really… You're a dragon now. We are tough as tanks."

She laughed and looked at Jake. "Are you hurt?"

"A bit … But I'll survive," he added with a chuckle. "C'mon. Let's go."

He took Rose in his arms and flew off.

At Lao Shi's Pawn Shop…

"There's someone at the door!" Fu Dog yelled.

"And why don't you open it?" Lao Shi answered from the back.

"A talking dog standing on two paws opening the door? No, thanks. I don't want to end up in some kind of freak show," the Shar-Pei answered.

"Fu! It's me! Open up! Fast!" Jake yelled from outside.

"Kid?" He ran to the door and opened it. "What happened?"

Jake quickly got in and looked down at Rose.

"Do you think you can walk?" He asked.

"I think so," Rose answered and Jake let her stand on her feet again.

"You won't believe who we just fought with" He said to Fu in a hurry.

"Wow! Calm down kid! Let me guess… Lord Voldemort?" The dog joked.

"Yo, Fu! This is serious!" Jake yelled angrily.

"I was just trying to lighten up the mood… Sheesh… So… Who was it? The Huntsman again?"

"Try… the Dark Dragon…" Rose finally said.

Fu stared at the two for a couple of seconds and then started to roll on the floor laughing. "hahahaha! The Dark Dragon! That's a good one!"

Then, his laughs started to die out when he saw that both dragons still had the same serious expression.

"Sunshine? You were joking, right?" He stared at her and there was no answer. "Jake… Please… tell me she was kidding!"

The room was engulfed by a deadly silence.

Fu Dog jumped on Jake and started to shake him violently. "Say something! For God's sake! It can't be true! The Dark Dragon is gone! He can't be back! Please, tell me you were seeing things!"

"Fu… It's true," Jake finally spoke with grief. "We barely made it out alive."

Another long silence followed, until Fu Dog started to laugh again. "Kid… You are good! You almost convinced me that… that… the Dark Dragon is… back…" His laughs were progressively turning into tears, until he finally broke down and let go of Jake. "Not the Dark Dragon! Why? Why does it have to be the Dark Dragon? We are doomed! This is a disaster! The apocalypse! I want my mommy!"

"AIYA! What is this all about?" Lao Shi finally appeared and saw the two dragons standing in the middle of the shop while a hysterical Fu Dog was crying on the counter.

"Uh… Gramps… We have bad news," Jake said.

Now Lao Shi was really worried. Jake only spoke with that tone when things were really bad.

* * *

><p><strong>And that, my friends, is just the begining.<br>As you can see, the rough side of their relationship is starting to come up.  
><strong>

**Phew... This one was quite hard and exhausting to write, but I think it was worth it! :)**

**So... Please, leave a review! It would make me really happy! XD**

** Thanks Ada! :)**

**~BlueserDragon  
><strong>


	7. Interlude: Insanity

**Interlude: Insanity**

It was a dark room, filled with a slightly eerie feel. A blue-eyed girl who was sleeping peacefully on the bed slowly opened her eyes and started to scan her surroundings.

"Where am I?" She whispered while rubbing her eyes. Then, slowly, the girl started to regain her senses. "Oh… right… It's just my room."

Rose looked at the clock in the nightstand.

"5:20 AM? Why so early?" Even in her sleepy state, she tried to find out why in the world she had woken up so suddenly.

"How long has it been anyway? Months? No. A year maybe?" She couldn't recall. All she knew is that she had lost track of time. She also didn't have any idea of why all that happened in the first place. The boredom was killing her.

She decided to just shrug it off and get up. She was already sick of sleeping. A stroll on the park while watching the sunrise probably could make her feel better.

She slowly changed into her usual clothes and tried to sneak out of the house as quietly as possible. Still, she felt something strange. Something she hasn't felt for a long time. It was like a voice echoing inside her head. It made her feel uneasy;

"By the way, why didn't you just fly out through the window?" The voice whispered while she closed the front door. Or at least she _thought_ she heard a voice. "You are a half-dragon after all, aren't you?"

Rose looked around, but no one was near. _"That's strange," _she thought;

She calmly walked in the sidewalk and enjoyed the last hours of the moonlight. Soon, the soon would take over and a new day would begin.

"_As if…" _Rose sighed.

"Why are you so down anyway?" She heard the voice again.

"_Oh no… Am I going crazy now? What the hell is this?" _She panicked.

"Yo! Rose?"

"_That's it… just ignore it… It's all in my head…"_

"Rose? Hello? Hello-ooo"

"_All in my head… in my head…" _She started to cower up in fear and shut her eyes. There was someone behind her… someone…

"Sheesh… It's just me… What's up with you?" The voice sounded both irritated and worried.

Rose yelped as soon as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Then, it all happened in a blink of an eye:

"HIYA!" Rose grabbed the hand and, in a fast movement, threw the person into the ground. When she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see a familiar face. "Jake?"

"Awww man…" He groaned.

Later, in the park… 

The couple sat down in a bench and just stared at New York's skyline, waiting for the sunrise.

"What are you doing up so early anyway?" Rose asked curiously.

"I was going to ask you the same thing..." Was his answer. "Actually I don't know. I just woke up and couldn't sleep again. So I just decided to stretch my legs a bit. And also..." He paused awkwardly.

Rose decided to break the silence.

"So, it was you talking inside my head?" She asked now, with a sigh of relief. "Sometimes I forget about this bond of ours."

"Hmmm… hehe… well…" He said nervously. "I... think."

"For a moment I thought I was going insane… Sheesh, Jake... But were you stalking me? How did you know I sneaked out through the front door instead of the window?" Then, she noticed something weird. "Why are you so pale?"

"Actually…" He tried to say, but something was blocking his words. "I thought it was YOU talking in my head."

"Huh? W-What do you mean?"

"Well..." he started. "I woke up and heard this voice telling me to get out for a walk... But... It didn't sound like you... What is going on here?"

The two stared at each others' eyes with concern and worry. Then, a sudden realization dawned on then...

"Wait... do you hear that?" Rose asked.

"Hear what?" Jake started, but was silenced with a finger on his lips.

"shhh..." She started looking around suspiciously. There was something weird going on.

"Wait... I heard it. Could it be..." Jake finally understood what that meant.

"YOU! Where were you all this time?" Rose snarled to no one inparticular...

"Hey! stop it already! I'm talking to you! Don't try to get away!"

_Oh dear... I was caught._

"Man! We were worried sick about you!" Jake said with excitement.

_Sorry guys... I got caught up with a few things and..._

"That's not an excuse! You could have at least given us some explanation or something! The story can't go on without you, you know?"

_I know... But I just couldn't find time. This is just a side job! I can't live just as a fanfiction narrator. I have other priorities too! Plus, don't blame me! You have to blame the author. I'm just a imaginary representation of his voice. _

**_Argh... Thanks a lot for blowing the whistle on me, narrator! Hey... don't look at me! I just do this as a hobby! I go to college now! And I have to work too! I've got a few personal problems in the way too._**

"What about weekends? You got to have some free time left!" Jake started arguing too.

**_Uhh... Well... The Dark Dragon kidnapped me and no one was there to help!_**

Suddenly, with a dark cloud of smoke, the Dark Dragon appeared.

"WHAT? I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!" he roared. "HOW DARE YOU TO USE MY NAME AS AN EXCUSE!"

_**I... ERRR... SORRY ABOUT THAT! I DIDN'T MEAN IT! I'M SORRY!**_

_**...**_

_**ENOUGH! THIS IS NONSENSE! I'M ARGUING WITH FICTIONAL CHARACTERS THAT AREN'T EVEN MINE!**_

"WILL YOU FINISH THIS STORY OR NOT?" They yelled in unison.

**_Okay okay... You won... I'll try to keep working on it. Now... can you guys please leave me alone?_**

"Only when you finish the next chapter!"

_**Sheesh... The next one is half done. Is that enough?**_

"No! you didn't even touch that file for months!"

_**How do you know that?**_

"I'm one of the characters in it! And Jake is too, right Jake?"

"Yeah!"

_**Sigh... Whatever. This is going nowhere... I'll just do somethng else now.**_

"Hey! Get back here you..."

***Closes Office Word***

* * *

><p><strong>Well guys, first of all, I'm really really sorry I didn't give you any kind of news during these last few months. I must say many things got in my way and I just couldn't find time to work on my stories. And the worst of all, I just couldn't find strength or inspiration. <strong>

**This chapter is pure rubbish, as you can see. But it was a way I found to try and dust off my writing, as well as give you some sort of satisfaction.  
>For those who thought this was a serious update, I'm really really sorry.<br>I wanted to upload**** the next chapter, but it might take a while to complete and I wanted to give you guys at least something.  
><strong>

**As you read, a few personal problems also got in the way, so I wasn't in the mood for writing at all.**

**I originally planned this series to have at least more two or three stories, the last one being the finale, but now I'm not sure if I'll be able to pull that off. Heck... I'm not even sure if I'll be able to finish this one in particular. I hate these stories that get dropped, so I will try my best for this not to happen.**

**So, now I'm thinking if I should squeeze everything into this fic and get it done... I really don't know what to do.**

**Again, I'm really really sorry about this hiatus of mine. I'll try to give you more news when I make up my mind.**

**Sincerely,**

**~BD**


	8. Shining Stars

**Heyyy everyone.  
><strong>

**Good news. I finally managed to finish this.  
>It's shorter than what I planned, but at least I thought it finally was ok for publishing.<br>**

**I guess my biggest fault is always want to do things in one go. I reached a point in my life where I have to learn how to do things little by little I guess. It's how I managed to write this. It took a ridiculous amount of time, but here it is.  
><strong>

**I'm really sorry for the stupidly long wait, but here it is.  
><strong>

**Hope you like it!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own ADJL and yadda yadda yadda. You know the rest.  
><strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 7: Shining Stars<strong>

"Gramps! I'm telling you! He is up to something. I just know it," Jake worriedly exclaimed while walking in circles through the shop.

They already had told Lao Shi about their fight with the Dark Dragon, and he seemed pretty shaken by the news. Jake just had a few bruises, cuts, and burns, so it didn't take much time to treat him. Rose's broken wing, though, needed more attention.

"Didn't he say anything that might help us find out what he is planning?" Fu Dog asked.

"No. He just said he had more important things to take care of," Jake answered.

"And that's what worries me…" Rose whispered and cringed a little because of the pain. Jake sighed and sat by her side.

"If it hurts, just squeeze my hand," said Jake.

"Thanks," Rose said with a smile. "Is my wing going to be okay, Gramps?"

"As soon as I finish putting on the splint, it will," Lao Shi said. "It's going to take a few weeks for it to heal completely, even with the healing potion. So, you won't be able to fly for awhile."

"How great…" She sighed in response. "But what about the dragon training? And the city patrols?"

"Angel, chill… I can take care of the patrols until you recover. I've always done that, and I think I can handle a few more weeks on my own," Jake tried to assure her.

"And as for the dragon training, we can practice other things that don't involve flying. Your fire breathing, for instance," Lao Shi added after he was done treating Rose. "You can turn back to human form now."

"Alright then…" Rose spoke shyly under her breath and dragoned-down..

"Gramps? Are you okay?" Jake asked after noticing how his grandfather seemed worried.

"I think you two should go and rest now. We can discuss these matters tomorrow," Lao Shi spoke with grief. "I need some time to meditate."

"Okay Gramps," Jake answered with a long yawn. "C'mon Rose. I'll fly you home."

Lao Shi waited until they were gone and sighed. "Fu… What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know. I'll make some calls tomorrow and see if I can find out anything," the dog replied. "Do you think we have a chance this time?"

"If we lose hope now, then there's no point in fighting," Lao Shi closed his eyes thoughtfully.

Meanwhile…

Jake remained quiet while he flew through New York. His head was wandering through hundreds of thoughts once again. It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried.

"Jake?" He suddenly heard Rose's voice ringing inside his ears.

"Huh?"

"Jake… Please… Say something. This silence is killing me," she told him while gently tightening her grip on the dragon.

"Sorry… I was just… thinking," Jake spoke with a distant voice.

"You are worried too, aren't you?" Rose said, reading his mind.

Jake just nodded, but remained silent.

"Don't worry. We'll find a way out of this," she tried to comfort him.

"You are right…" Jake whispered, although he was a bit uncertain. "Do you mind if I go higher?"

"Go as high as you want," she told him sweetly.

"Hold on," Jake flapped his wings faster and started to ascend. After a while, they were above the clouds and found themselves just staring at the sky.

The waning moon was shyly coming through the night as if trying to hide from the almost imminent danger that threatened the future, turning the already dark night even more obscure and ominous. In contrast, because of that, the stars probably couldn't be shining brighter. Jake and Rose started to wonder if that was actually a good sign or simply cruel irony.

Rose suddenly chuckled slightly and let out a short laugh.

"Don't you think it's kinda funny that just a week after dealing with the Huntsclan and the skulls, we have to fight the Dark Dragon?" Rose tried to explain.

"I can't see anything funny about that," Jake answered a little uncomfortably.

"No… I mean… We barely got time to put ourselves back together and now we already have another threat coming up." She said with a more joking mood.

Jake finally caught the cue and entered in a lighter mood as well. "That's being the American Dragon for you. It's a non-stop battle, no time for rest. Your schedule will always be full from now on. Get used to it," he chuckled. "Before you realize it, your school grades will go downhill, you'll be falling asleep all the time… And that's just a start."

"Was that supposed to cheer me up?" Asked Rose with a hint of sarcasm.

"Probably not…" Jake answered with a small smile while he got lost in his thoughts once again.

"Good thing I'll be able to help you. I have no idea how you managed to survive on your own until now," she taunted him.

"Just stop it, will you?" Jake snapped back, a little annoyed. _"Besides… Everyone has always helped me."_

"_It figures…" _Rose grinned.

"Awww man… Stop reading my mind!"

Some time later…

"Thanks for the ride, Jake," Rose smiled and kissed him after they landed in front of Rose's current place.

"Anytime babe," he replied. "Uh… I gotta go now… bye!"

"Why are you…" Rose tried to ask, but she realized why Jake was in a hurry, and she was cut off by Harry, the troll.

"YOU AGAIN? THIS TIME YOU WON'T ESCAPE!" He yelled.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" Jake cried loudly.

"Oh geez…." Rose sighed with a facepalm as she watched the troll chasing Jake.

After a few minutes the troll returned and proceeded to open the door.

"Sorry for the inconvenience," He apologized. "But I caught that dragon trying to sneak in last time, and he claimed to be the American Dragon…"

"Well… It's kind of hard to believe, but…He IS the American Dragon…" Rose said sheepishly. "And he is also my boyfriend… He's not a bad guy… just… A bit messed up," she added while rolling her eyes. "Could you try to be a bit nicer with him next time, please?"

"Oh… Well… In that case, I'm sorry. But then tell him the password before he comes here again." Harry asked politely.

Rose chuckled. "I'll remember that. Good night."

"Good night," he replied.

As Rose entered her house, she thought that it might be better not to tell her parents about the Dark Dragon. It would probably be way too much for them to handle, as they were already trying to accept the fact that the magical world existed and that their daughter was a dragon (that is risking her life all the time) as well.

James was actually sitting in the living room waiting for her. Violet had already fallen asleep by his side and was covered by a blanket.

"Hmm… Sorry… I'm late. We… uh… had a little problem with a magical creature and…" She tried to explain herself.

But before she could continue, Rose suddenly felt herself being tightly hugged by her father. "Uh… dad?"

"It may sound a little weird to you but… I was worried… I had this strange feeling that you were in danger…" He paused. "Are you really alright?"

Rose was shocked. "I'm okay… Don't worry…" She didn't know what to do, but she didn't want to scare him either. "It was nothing big… Really…" She lied. The girl was wondering how in the world he could have felt something like that. _"Parental instincts, perhaps?" _She thought.

At the Long's residence…

As Jake entered his house, he found his father on the couch watching some kind of old-fashioned movie. When Jonathan heard the door closing, he turned around with a big smile and greeted his son.

"Heeeey Jakers! Welcome home my dear son. Another exciting and action-packed night of protecting the Magical World, I believe?" Jonathan said slightly more enthusiastically than Jake wanted to hear.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever…" Was his somewhat rude answer.

"Now… That is not the way to greet your father, young man," his father said in a half scolding and half concerned manner. "Is everything alright?"

Jake sighed. "Sorry, dad. It's just that it was a hard day, and I'm really tired," he answered.

"I see. It's okay," Jonathan said slightly disappointed, but he could understand what Jake meant. "Well, let's go to bed then, shall we? It's really late now. Even your mom is already sleeping," Jonathan added.

"I guess you are right. Good night." He agreed.

Jonathan smiled back and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good work son," he told him. "I know you are giving your best and that makes me really proud." He told him before going to the kitchen.

"Thank you, dad. I really needed that," Jake whispered with a warm smile and went upstairs.

After a while, he was ready for bed. He glanced at the clock and sighed before quickly getting under his covers.

"_I really hope things turn out alright…"_ Was his last thought before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Well... This is it for now.<strong>

**Sorry... I'm out of time. Will leave to College in 5 mins.  
><strong>

**So. Bye!  
><strong>

**~BD  
><strong>


End file.
